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Birthday boy Ray Mala was an Inupiat actor born in Candle, Alaska on December 27th, 1906. In 1925 Mala made his way to the Edendale neighborhood and got a job as a cameraman with Fox Film Corporation. In 1932, Mala was featured as an actor in Edwin Wing's "documentary," Igloo, which was distributed by Universal and became a hit. The following year, he appeared as "Mala the Magnificent" in the big budget MGM film, Eskimo. He went on to appear in many films, often in "Northerns" and also playing Pacific Islanders in other films. Mala also spent a considerable amount of time behind the camera as a cinematographer. He worked with Joseph LaShelle on many pictures including Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Laura (1944), The Fan (1949), Meet Me After the Show (1951) and Les Misérables (1952).
Sadly he died of a heart attack at age 45 in 1952.